Electrical receptacles provide a convenient means of supplying electrical power to electrical devices or appliances. In particular, indoor and outdoor lighting, appliances, and the like, make use of an electrical distribution system through access of these electrical receptacles located in the interior and/or exterior walls of building structures, such as homes and commercial buildings.
Many such electrical receptacles have a line side, which is connectable to an electrical power supply, a load side which is connectable to one or more loads, and at least one conductive path between the line and load sides. Electrical connections to wires supplying electrical power or wires conducting electricity to one or more loads can be at the line side and load side connections.
Connections to such electrical receptacles are often achieved using a clamping arrangement in which a wire is inserted between a terminal clamp and a terminal plate, whereupon the terminal clamp is pressed down onto the wire to clamp the wire between the clamp and the plate. Often the clamping force is supplied by a screw.
While such clamping arrangements are effective, their use can be cumbersome. For example, often the electrical wire is wrapped around the screw to ensure good long-term engagement with the receptacle. This requires that the user hold the terminal clamp open with one hand, while wrapping the wire around the screw with the other hand. When a user is installing multiple receptacles in a building, for example, during a new construction, this increases the total amount of time required to complete the wiring process.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an electrical receptacle having a terminal clamp that is configured to be automatically retained in the open position so the installer needn't do so. Such a “hold open” feature should also not interfere with the clamping.